Despite that South Laguna residents live within the South Coast Water District, residents have not played a role in electing its governing board since 1999 when Laguna Beach contracted with the district for services, a spokeswoman explained.

Nevertheless, a South Laguna citizen’s group submitted written questions to the candidates, all of whom responded, with the exception of Gary Langdale. Their full unedited answers can be found at http://www.southlaguna.org

The five survey questions:

Are you in support of the Aliso Creek urban runoff recovery, reuse and conservation project? Would you advocate getting it operational sooner than summer 2013?

To improve ocean water quality from present sewage discharges at the Aliso Creek Ocean Outfall, how will you work to increase the volume and use of recycled water in Laguna Beach and surrounding cities serviced by SCWD?

Do you support city-wide marine reserves for Laguna Beach? Please explain.

In what ways would you be willing to mitigate South Laguna residents for the impacts of the five-year tunnel stabilization and sewer pipeline replacement project?

Since South Laguna customers and ratepayers are not allowed to vote in SCWD board elections, how do you plan to reach out to the South Laguna ratepayers and involve them in decision-making for the district?

The South Laguna Civic Assoc. conducted the survey to gain a better understanding of the candidates’ vision for the water district, said association President Bill Rihn in a statement. Ratepayers are denied voting rights in the election of SCWD Board members and must transmit their concerns through an advisory committee to the Laguna Beach City Council.